Sparrows were the enemy of farmers. According to the leader of the country, they were eating too much grain, so he announced a great "Sparrow War" to banish them from China.

But Ming-Li didn't want to chase the birds away. As the people of her village gathered with firecrackers and gongs to scatter the sparrows, she watched in dismay.

Quietly, she vowed to save as many sparrows as she could, one by one...